[S-24] Potential disease modifying therapies for Parkinson disease

[S-24-2] Challenges in trials of disease modifying therapies in Parkinson disease

Camille Carroll^1,2 (1.University of Plymouth Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, 2.University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust)

The concept of “disease modification” encompasses intervention types ranging from those designed to slow the underlying degeneration to treatments aiming at compensating lost neuronal functions. It is the ultimate goal of Parkinson disease treatment, although all attempts to develop effective disease-modifying therapy have failed to date. Many reasons have been proposed for these failures including our poor understanding of disease pathogenesis and the lack of sensitive surrogate markers of PD. Moreover, several observations suggest that the PD is not a single disease, but syndrome based on a variety of pathophysiological mechanisms. However, recently several promising new approaches have been reported and attracted attentions. The aim of this symposium is to elucidate true possibilities and real limitations of such novel trials.

Dr Carroll is associate professor and consultant neurologist at University of Plymouth Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry. She leads Parkinson’s clinical research and the Parkinson’s service in Plymouth. Dr Carroll undertook her preclinical medical training at the University of Manchester, where she also completed an intercalated PhD (1994) investigating NMDA receptor antagonists in models of Parkinson's disease (PD). She completed her clinical training at the University of Oxford in 1997 and undertook specialist neurology training in the South West and West Midlands. In 2007 Dr Carroll was awarded a Medical Research Council fellowship which allowed her to develop research interests investigating neuroprotective mechanisms in cell culture models of Parkinson's disease. Her current focus is on clinical trials of neuroprotective interventions in Parkinson's disease, currently being the chief investigator of a multi-centre clinical trial of simvastatin as a potential neuroprotective therapy in PD (PD-STAT). She also has an interest in the use of technology (wearable sensors and apps) for early disease detection, personalising therapy and monitoring disease progression. She has overseen the development of a PD DNA bank (2700 samples) and a regional PD clinical research register. She was appointed Clinical Research Network National Specialty Lead for Neurodegenerative Disease in 2017.